Wonderful and Strange
by chandlerina
Summary: Agent Cooper comes back to the Great Northern after a long day of trying to solve the Laura Palmer case. He's tired, but suddenly he hears music playing in the hallway. Soft, dreamy music. Unable to not investigate, he wanders down the hallway. Who will be standing there dancing alone? [Set early in season one. They have met a few times before this.]


**Wonderful and Strange**

_Best read while listening to "Audrey's Dance"_

_Diane, 2:47am. I have arrived back at the Great Northern after a long day of chasing bad leads and dead ends. If there is something I'm sure of, it is that whatever happened to Laura Palmer, it will be a long and dark path of clues for me and Sheriff Truman to wander down. This girl had secrets, Diane, and not the simple kind. I'm tired. Haven't made it to my room yet, because the elevator was occupied by a group of bird watchers. Lots of owl activity here, they told me. There is music coming from somewhere down the hall. Soft music, Diane, dreamy almost, like the jazz album I gave you for Christmas a few years ago. Definitely intriguing._

Turning off his tape recorder, Agent Dale Cooper made his way down the hallway, with slow and steady steps. He was still unsure of where the music came from, but with every step he took, it grew a little louder. It sort of filled his senses and he wondered what kind of person he would meet by the turntable. Maybe a group of authors, writing romance stories late at night? Or maybe lovers, sharing a midnight dance in the dim light of the moon? Whoever he would meet, Agent Cooper was very intrigued.

Turning a corner, his eyes were focused on whoever he would see standing there, but he had not been prepared enough for who it would actually be. There, in the darkness, in what later that day would be a busy dining room, stood Audrey Horne. Her head was tilted to the side and her shoulders moving slowly with the music. Dressed in a black pencil skirt and a pale pink angora sweater, she looked like she was ready for school in the middle of night. She had taken off her shoes, her feet bare against the cold floor, but she didn't seem to mind. Her eyes were closed.

It was like the music moved her, it swayed her hips and held her hands, and she moved her head slightly as if it placed a kiss upon her neck. Cooper watched silently, not sure if he wanted her to notice his presence. He didn't know how long he had been standing there, a minute, maybe even five, when suddenly the song faded and the turntable stopped spinning the record. But Audrey continued to move, opening her eyes and letting her hands slowly reach out into the dimmed air. She moved like that for a while, until suddenly a smile formed on her lips. "Are you gonna stand there all night, Agent Cooper?" She said, not looking at him, her shoulders moving to the song that was not playing anymore.

Cooper cleared his throat, not sure what to say. "Audrey, you do know that the record stopped playing?" And to that, she finally looked at him, her smile faded and her eyes the bluest of blues. "Can't you still feel it though? Moving your body, dancing with you when nobody else will?" He felt taken aback for a moment, looking at her while she moved slowly there by herself. There was something kind of sad about her, something that he hadn't noticed the few times he'd met her before. She was beautiful though. And then he smiled to himself. "Yes, Audrey. I still feel it too, but you know what?" He said, moving towards the turntable, feeling her eyes follow his every move. "I think I need to listen to it one more time."

As the song started playing, he walked over to her and reached out his hand. "And maybe we can dance together?" Her eyes were stars when she looked up at his face, slowly taking his hand and moving closer to him. Her skin was soft, and pale even in the darkness of the night. They moved slowly, almost in slow motion, and he noticed how the smile on her lips never faded like it had before. She pressed her face against his chest and he slowly rocked her in time with the music, and even though he couldn't see her face, he knew that her eyes were closed.

"I don't know why you are so sad, Audrey," he said, his lips brushing against her hair, "but if you want to talk about it, I'm here." He could feel her nod, but somehow he knew that she would never truly tell him what bothered her so much. So he continued to dance, slowly, even when the record faded and the turntable stopped spinning it, he danced with her. Because somehow she had been right. He could still feel the music, moving all around him, captivating him in a dreamlike place. With her warmth against him, it didn't feel strange. It felt wonderful.


End file.
